Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1887-08-20
CATEGORlCALLY.
HENRY GEORGE CRITICISED
AND CORRECTED.
He Does Not Desire to BE Bet
ter InfOrmed-The Vanity OF
an AuthOr-The Socialist
ScapcgOat-A Weak
ened Platform.

Translation, IN volkszeitung," Aug. 3
If Henry George had ever listened
to tie objections made by the Social
lists to his theory, nay, if he had but
shown readiness to carry on a de-
bate on the matters in controversy
between him and ourselves, in order
to bring about mutual understand
ing, he would not have thrown the
apple of discord into the labor move
ment and would not have published
document of such great weakness
as his leading article in the Stanaard
of August Ga very self-stultlfica-
tiOn.
1t would require long refutation
to criticize said article, and it would
convince Mr.. George no more than
our earlier critiques which we op-
posed to his theory. From the de-
cided manner in which he styles the
doctrine of Karl Marx childish,
confusing, contradictory, unpracti-
CAL" ETC., we see that he does not
wish to be better informed, that the
vanity of an author and the over
bearing of a party chief have got the
better of his otherwise clear intellect,
and that he has now discovered that
the farmers will not meddle with his
tax reform plan, wherefOr he seeks q
scapegoat in the Socialists.
We confine ourselves to recount
ing the incorrect statements which
he makes in his leading article.
|. 1t is not necessary, as he thinks,
that in the Syracuse convention Of
the United Labor Party the relation
of the latter to the Socialist Labor
Party should be clearly defined
That ought to have been done be-
tween him and us in a narrower
circle. If it is to be done in the
presence of more than 800 delegates
in Syracuse, either an endless debate,
or a downvoting the Socialist minor
ity resolved upon in advance and
carried through by the majority may
be foreseen. Between two theories
laid down in whole volumes no con-
vention can intelligently decide.
2. It is thoroughly false-as he
says-that the German Socialists
wish "to impress their peculiar
views" upon the party. They have
repeatedly declared that they will
be for the present entirely agreed on
the Clarendon Hall platform on
which the $4,000 votes were rolled
up. They are solely not agreed that
H. George should force upon the
founders of the party another plat
form weakened in his capitalstic
sense. They know quite we'll that
years must pass till their teachings
will have convinced majority of the
working people of their truth and
it's historical necessity. They wish
to patiently wait so long, and nobody
can be more modest. But that very
thing ia change of the platform) is
what Henry George wants. 1t re-
quires much more patient mental
labor to convert the masses to Social
Democracy than it takes to render
the theory of II. George accept
able. ole.
3. When he calls the teachings of
German Socialism so confused and
illogical as to make it difficult for
the English speaking to understand
their true import and purpose, the
fact contradicts him that the Eng
lish Socialists, Hyndman, Morris,
Aveling. and in America many others
are Social Democrats of the Karl
Marx stamp. and that none of them
has found so much difficulty to
understand this theory as Ii. George.
4. 1t is incorrect, or else a mislead-
ing expression that in this theory
-" the employer or capitalist be the
central point" The central point is
rather legislation which renders
capitalists and landlords masters of